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We might be about music rather than moments in American history here at Holler, but sometimes the two crossover and, for whatever reason, they gain quite the cult following.
We’ve reached the time of year when the “skies of November turn gloomy”, as we mark the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.
The American freighter that carried iron ore sank during a storm on November 10, 1975 in Lake Superior. Despite radio contact with another ship, a strong storm warning, and a renegotiated northerly route, the fate of the Fitzgerald was sealed. “At seven p.m., a main hatchway caved in” and the freighter disappeared from radar surveillance, with the eight-metre high waves and hurricane winds, “the good ship and crew was in peril”.
The final transmission came from the captain just minutes before its disappearance, leaving a haunting legacy behind: “We are holding our own”. The Fitzgerald sank less than 20 miles from Whitefish Bay and the freighter was lost to the “gales of November”, all 29 crew members of the wreckage tragically lost their lives.
The following year, the mysterious loss of the ship inspired singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, and the story would be memorialised in his hit song ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’. Whether it be the story, the legendary writing or the fans of Lightfoot himself, this song has become nothing less than a cult classic. As the 50th anniversary has approached, the track has been making its rounds through the country music community, creating quite the collection of covers.
Here at Holler, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favourite versions from a handful of artists. If nothing else, there’s no doubt that Lightfoot's song has ensured “the legend lives on from the Chippewa on down”.
Billy Strings
Billy Strings has had ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ in regular rotation of his touring setlist over the last year or so, sometimes using it as an impressive full band introduction. However, he took it up a notch at his infamous Billyween gig this year: band members in costume, a rocking ship projected behind them - that’s a good tribute.
Turnpike Troubadours
At the surprise of all in the audience and all who lived it vicariously through social media, our favourite Oklahoma red-dirt band, Turnpike Troubadours, took to the stage in Cleveland just a couple of days before the 50th anniversary. The group’s cover might just be the most hauntingly powerful of them all.
Tony Rice
We couldn't make this list without including bluegrass legend Tony Rice. Rice’s cover of 'The Wreck' is included on his 1983 album 'Church Street Blues' and, other than Lightfoot’s original, is perhaps the most well known version out there.
Charles Wesley Godwin
Back in 2023, Charles Wesley Godwin posted his first cover of the legendary track on his social accounts in a moving tribute to Gordon Lightfoot. The year after, he posted a second rendition before the release of another Gordon Lightfoot cover, his studio recording of ‘Sundown’; we can only hope that the West Virginia native might release a studio recording of "The Fitz" too.
Christiana Miller
We've not seen many covers of the Lightfoot track come from female artists, but this year Christiana Miller posted a beautiful rendition of the song on her social media. Turns out, this is a story that can be told by just about anybody if they have the sentiment right.
Home Free
The final version of the track we're including on this list comes from country acapella group, Home Free. The group released the cover on their latest album 'Challenge the Sea' earlier this year, their sea shanty style keeps the story of one of November’s most notorious tales going.
For the full lyrics of Gordon Lightfoot's 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald', see below:
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake, they called Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore, twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early
The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feeling?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too
'Twas the witch of November come stealing
The dawn came late, and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashin'
When afternoon came, it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind
When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'
"Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya"
At seven p.m., a main hatchway caved in, he said
"Fellas, it's been good to know ya"
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put 15 more miles behind her
They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams
The islands and bays are for sportsmen
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered
In a musty old hall in Detroit, they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral
The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake, they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early
~~
